A Tribute to the Great Ray Charles: Ellis Hall, Oregon Symphony

[BLIND AMBITION] Some tribute acts resort to silly wigs and fake accents in what amounts to Halloween karaoke. The Oregon Symphony’s doing the notion one better with a Ray Charles tribute, in which it has actually blinded a man and sat him down at the piano. OK, Carlos Kalmar didn’t gouge out Ellis Hall’s eyes. In fact, the accomplished pianist was one of Ray’s actual protégés, so it’s a safe bet his impression of the master’s going to be spot-on and include a little bit of his own personality. And you really can’t ask for a better backing band than the Symphony, which excels at being shticky—especially when it’s playing masterpieces from the Charles canon rather than, say, the theme from Zelda.

Mormon dance superstars and brother-and-sister duo Julianne and Derek Hough are trying to make a dance show that feels like a rock concert. They just received an Emmy nomination for their choreogra ...